NorgesGruppen has reported a 5.3% year-on-year increase in sales to NOK 57.2 billion (€4.9 billion) in the first half of 2024.
Profit after tax amounted to NOK 1.7 billion (€150 million) in this period, up from NOK 1.3 billion (€110 million) in the same period last year.
Profit margin in the first half of 2024 increased to 3.0% from 2.4% in the corresponding period in the previous year.
CEO Runar Hollevik stated, "Strong team efforts result in continued customer growth, and good cost control throughout NorgesGruppen means that the group can continue to compete hard on price in a highly competitive market.
"Increased productivity and reduced electricity costs mean that increased product costs from suppliers are not passed on to the consumer in full, which means that customers continue to choose our stores."
Quarterly Highlights
NorgesGruppen benefitted from good performance across its business, including Dagrofa in Denmark.
Operating margin in the retail division stood at 2.6% in the first half of 2024, which is the same level as the whole of 2023.
Operating profit (EBIT) across the group increased to NOK 2.1 billion (€180 million) from NOK 1.6 billion (€140 million) in the first half of last year. The operating margin growth stood at 3.7% in the first half, up from 3.0% in the first half of 2023.
The company's greenhouse gas emissions fell by four percentage points in the first half, helping it achieve an overall reduction of 22% from the baseline year 2019.
Food waste in the period reduced by four percentage points in the first six months of 2024, marking a 44% decline since 2015.
The company recently introduced a new mobile payment option for grocery purchases across its stores via Trumf Pay.
